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Lyrics

THUNDER ROAD

Live 25 Mar 1977 version

[Spoken intro:] This is for the King and the Little King. (chukles) Hah.

Screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Well, don't you run back inside
Darling, you know just what I'm here for
I got it!
So you're scared, you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Well, man, show a little faith, there's magic in tonight
You ain't a beauty, but hey, it's all right
And, now, that's all right with me

Well, you hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets
Well, the kid ain't no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well, the night's busted open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting down on the tracks
Whoa, come and take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Whoa, oh, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh, oh, oh, oh, Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make her talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride ain't free
Well, I know you're lonely, there's words that I ain't spoken
Tonight, girl, we'll be free, all the promises will be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
In the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
When you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind, Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win
Hey!

[Spoken outro:] The E Street Band!

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 25 Mar 1977 performance of THUNDER ROAD at Music Hall in Boston, MA, during what is known as The Lawsuit Tour. This was the last of four consecutive shows at the venue that concluded the tour. The song was played in a full-band arrangement featuring a piano introduction by Roy Bittan.

Promotional ad for the March 1977 four-night at Music Hall, Boston, MA(Taken from Brucebase)

Ticket stub for the 25 Mar 1977 show at Music Hall, Boston, MA(Thanks Steve Hopkins)

Despite the marvelous reception received by both Born To Run and the tour which followed, the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and his now former manager and producer Mike Appel was deteriorating. In July 1976 the storm broke; Mike Appel wrote to Springsteen saying that he would not allow Jon Landau (Springsteen's friend and co-producer of Born To Run) to produce the next album, citing a particular paragraph from their original agreement. Springsteen replied on 27 Jul 1976 by firing manager Mike Appel and suing him and his management company Laurel Canyon Ltd. in Federal Court in Manhattan, claiming fraud, breach of trust, and undue influence. Appel counter-sued on 29 Jul 1976 in New York State Supreme Court, asking the court to prohibit Springsteen and Jon Landau from working together in studio. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band were slated to enter the studio that year for the recording of a new album, except that on 15 Sep 1976 the judge in the lawsuits case ruled that Springsteen was enjoined from any further recording with Columbia Records until Appel's suit was resolved. This would drag for about a year. Meanwhile, Springsteen continued gigging, and in the process broke his self-imposed rule of not playing the larger arenas. This was basically because he was not able to put a record out, and it was the only way his fans would be able to hear him at all. The tour became known as "The Lawsuit Tour" (62 know dates, August 1976 to March 1977).

Credits

Thanks Jake (ol'catfishinthelake at BTX and Greasy Lake) for the lyrics help for the lyrics help.